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MikeA-m10
Participating Frequently
August 12, 2020
Answered

How to turn off automatic font activation

  • August 12, 2020
  • 5 replies
  • 39417 views

A week or so ago I accidentally clicked a button to allow Indesign (or Adobe?) to automatically activate fonts that are missing from a document. I can't find where to turn this feature off.

Cheers, Mike

      Correct answer meh67

      Did cleaning the cache help at all? We have exactly the same isuse. Fonts opened in ConnectFonts are overridden by the CC Adobe fonts. Which can't be packaged so we cannot submit them to Veeva!


      No, what ended up working was completely deleted Interstate from the list in Adobe Cloud Fonts rather than just making it inactive. Then restarting everything and it seemed to work then.

      It seemed to be a bug with Adobe Cloud Fonts wanting to use their version of the font even with auto-activation unchecked - so removing it from my Adobe Type list completely made it work. At least, thats what I think made it work. I thought I had DELETED it before, but I think I just inactivated it.

      5 replies

      meh67
      meh67
      Inspiring
      March 18, 2025

      UGH!!! I have this problem as well. In Indesign I do have the "Auto-active adobe fonts" Turned OFF - but Adobe fonts STILL keeps loading THEIR version of Interstate (which sux), instead of the one I bought for good money because it has a monospace version of the font (Tabular Lining) in OpenType features so my tables line up. Why have a button in Indesign Preferences to NOT auto-load the Adobe fonts and have it not work??? 
      I literally have to go into Adobe Fonts, find Interstate that it KEEPS LOADING even while working on the same file - and turn it off over and over and over...
      Adobe seems to keep making "improvements" that make me less productive.

      Abhishek Rao
      Community Manager
      Abhishek RaoCommunity Manager
      Community Manager
      March 19, 2025

      Hi @meh67,

       

      Could you share the version of InDesign and your OS details? Also, please check if the font is duplicated in your system fonts. If you see Interstate listed in Creative Cloud Desktop App > Fonts, check if it’s activated there and let me know. If the Adobe Fonts version is active, try turning it off. If the issue persists, clearing your InDesign font cache might help (ref: Adobe Font Troubleshooting). Let me know how it goes!

       

      ^
      Abhishek

      meh67
      meh67
      Inspiring
      March 19, 2025

      Adobe Indesign 2025 (version 20.2)

      MacBook Pro - 16-indh 2019

      2.4 Ghz 8-Core Inter Core i9

      AMD Radeon Pro 550M 8GB
      Intel UHD Graphics 630
      1536 MB

      Memory: 64GB 2667 Mhz DDR4

       

      I have Interstate OpenType which I purchased located on my computer. I have this font activated for use on my computer through the type activation program "TypeFace". This version has the OpenType features I need. When I open up an existing Indesign project to update the tables, The tables dont use the Tabular version of Interstate - so I go into Adobe Cloud Desktop App > Font and Lo-and-Behold Interstate is activated there. As soon as I deactive it and go back to Indesign - everything looks fine as apparently it then allows my purchased version of Interstate (which was originally applied) to work. 

      In Adobe Indesign  Preferences > File handling I have "Auto-add Adobe Fonts" unchecked.
      I think if there is a way to completely remove it from Adobe Font that would work. I have deleted it over and over, but it still keeps activating when I open up my projects to update.
      Ill try clearing my Indesign Font Cache and let you know.

       

        DavidMatos
        DavidMatos
        Inspiring
        November 18, 2022

        As if it wasn’t enough, Adobe now induces users to Save to Creative Cloud by default in Illustrator, by removing the (command+S) shortcut and forcing users to manually click the ‘On your computer’ button. Amazing, ha?

          DavidMatos
          DavidMatos
          Inspiring
          February 5, 2022

          Yet another arrogant, time consuming, productivity damaging feature from Adobe.

            D
            defaultdv2wmk6jgast
            New Participant
            November 18, 2022

            This seems to be another nightmare Adobe has created for me. As advised above, I switched off Adobe fonts, but the InDesign Background Tasks keep trying to replace my original Proforma fonts with Adobe Proforma fonts (which do not have small caps, etc.). Also, all my Proforma Small Caps fonts do not appear in the InDesign font menu even though they are activated in FontExplorer X Pro.

              M
              MikeA-m10Author
              Participating Frequently
              September 10, 2020

              Finally stumbled across the location of preference for "Auto-activate Adobe Fonts". It's in preferences/File Handling.

               

                erics60158124
                erics60158124
                Participating Frequently
                March 10, 2021

                I think I am having the same issue, but this setting is already turned off for me.

                I want to keep a specific font family from activating when I open old documents so that I am prompted to find/change to my new font. I don't want to deactivate all Adobe fonts. Just one family in particular.

                 

                Should the method above work?

                  K
                  karend21127755
                  New Participant
                  September 13, 2022

                  I would probably keep the auto activate function turned off, but you should also be able to go into the Creative Cloud app and turn off that specific family by going to Manage Fonts and searching for the font you no longer are wanting.

                  HARSHIKA_VERMA
                  Community Manager
                  HARSHIKA_VERMACommunity Manager
                  Community Manager
                  August 13, 2020

                  Hi Mike,

                   

                  Thanks for reaching out. Would you mind disabling the button from the Creative Cloud app as shown in the screenshot below?

                   

                  Let me know if that helps.

                   

                  Thanks,

                  Harshika

                    M
                    MikeA-m10Author
                    Participating Frequently
                    August 18, 2020

                    Unfortunately that completely turns off Adobe Fonts. Before I had to option to activate individual fonts when needed. There was a check box next to each missing font. For prepress I need to be able to check individual fonts and make sure they match what the customer sent.

                      HARSHIKA_VERMA
                      Community Manager
                      HARSHIKA_VERMACommunity Manager
                      Community Manager
                      August 18, 2020

                      Thanks for elaborating it. Yes so now you will be able to activate the full family of font and not the individual font weight from fonts.adobe.com and search the font you want to activate. Please see the attached screenshot.

                       

                       

                      Thanks,

                      Harshika

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